Gardener

Most people who know me would call me a liberal—my relatives and friends as well as other acquaintances. I have generally accepted the “L” word as a wonderful adjective, suggesting as it does generosity and beneficence. Of course I know that for some of my acquaintances it is the ultimate put down. They sometimes preface it with modifiers like bleeding-heart and tree-hugging, but these, too, strike me as words with positive connotations. A bleeding-heart is one that feels compassion for the down and out as Jesus does in the gospels again and again: “He had compassion on them.” And tree-hugging is, in my lexicon, a description of people who care deeply about protecting and preserving the creation—something scripture calls us to do. Of course, what all these people mean when they call me a liberal is that in matters political, I want to bring about change—especially change in which government programs are employed and government authority is increased. And in matters religious, they

This is what your mother told me: Some time back, when your (Christian School) teacher was talking to you about politics, she said, “Christians vote Republican.”    This upset you because, as you said to your mom, “Grandpa’s a Christian and he votes for Democrats.”   You were right on both counts, and I want take a little time to explain why I as a Christian vote for Democrats most of the time.   First of all, let me say that I am glad you and your friends and teachers are talking about politics. American citizens should be talking politics, and you are a citizen.   In a democracy like America we believe that the ordinary citizens are the people who govern the country.   When we vote, we elect people to be public servants .   That means that they must do things for the citizens, that is, for the public weal.   (That’s a good old-fashioned word you should get to know.)   They must serve the public.   But it also means that the ordinary citizens (you and me) must know about the cand